The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.

I picked up this book because I saw the opening paragraph displayed on a Kindle pictured on a sign in a Barnes & Noble. The first few sentences hooked me, so I googled them, identified the book, walked to the shelf, and picked it up. I’m so glad I did.

If you’re looking for a quick read with an impactful story that is heartbreakingly beautiful, this is the one for you. It is entirely believable that the portrayed events could happen in real life with the exception of one pivotal magical element. This only enhances the story’s charm—what if magic like this really exists all around us? In the end, I walked away with that wonderful feeling that I’d been walloped in the gut by beauty.

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